This invention relates to TDMA communication systems, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for processing bandwidth requests in a cable modem termination system (CTMS).
A CMTS processes various types of upstream data it receives from cable modems attached to a hybrid fiber cable (HFC) plant. Included data types are protocol data units (PDU) and requests from the cable modems for bandwidth, i.e., time slots, to transmit packet data units upstream to the CMTS. Each data type is uniquely identified in a header transmitted as part of the data packets. Conventionally, a CTMS processes all the data types in the order of receipt, irrespective of the data type.